By Carolanne Wright
Contributing Writer for Wake Up World
Just when we thought it couldn’t get much worse on the fracking front — polluted groundwater, poisoned environment, destroyed ecosystems — a dangerous new practice for ‘disposing’ of fracking wastewater has been put into action: spread it onto roadways for ice and dust management. Not only does the the flowback water from fracking contain a range of toxic compounds — including ammonium, iodide, heavy metals and bromide — it can also contain radioactive material.
For those unfamiliar with the process of fracking — known as hydraulic fracturing — a bit of history about the technique is helpful. Halliburton developed the process in 1949 and utilized the technology for decades with oil and gas wells to increase production, as they began to run dry. In conventional fracking, the well is stimulated by pumping-in water at high pressure. But hydraulic fracturing used for shale rock is a relatively new process and the one we hear most about today.
